I liked the first of this series well enough to give the second a try, but it failed to hold my interest. Gemma cries the same complaints throughout the first half of this that I made it through that she did in the first novel. Part of if is that I'm just not a big YA fan (the self centered thoughts of the characters get to me) but I'm just not sure Bray fulfilled the expectations she started out for. ( )

Not as good as the first one. Overly long, and the inconsistent characterisation really begins to show here. Ms Nightwing, with her advice at the end, seems to have done a complete volte-face on her behaviour towards Pippa with regard to Mr Bumble. Plus, I really don't get Mrs. Worthington's character or Miss Moore's, either. Their actions weren't consistent with what we already know about them ( in Miss Moore's case I realise that this may be intentional, but why, for instance, does she give away her middle name when that risks her being found out before she can get Gemma to take her to the realms?)

I dunno, I have the third one here so I will read it, but I don't have any hunger for it, currently. ( )

This is the second book in the Gemma Doyle series. I thought the first book to be OK, so I got this one from the library.

I didn't think it was very different from the first book. There still isn't really character development, but the pacing of the story is somewhat faster. There are also more places visited, so we finally get to see some more of Victorian England and the other world.

I thought the storyline in the other world was a bit weak, as the girls were really naive.

I wanted to read the rest to finish the trilogy, but I haven't found the time to do so yet. Perhaps I will do it some time... ( )

All that we see or seem / Is but a dream within a dream. --Edgar Allan Poe

Who first seduc'd them to that foul revolt? Th' infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile Stir'd up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv'd The Mother of Mankinde, what time his Pride Had cast him out from Heav'n, with all his Host of Rebel Angels, by whose aid aspiring To set himself in Glory above his Peers, He trusted to have equal'd the most High, If he oppos'd; and with ambitious aim Against the Throne and Monarchy of God Rais'd impious War in heav'n and Battel proud With vain attempt. Him the almighty Power Hurl'd headlong flaming from th' Ethereal Skie With hideous ruine and combustion down To bottomless perdition, there to dwell... O Prince, O Chief of many Throned Powers, That led th' imbattell'd Seraphim to Warr Under thy conduct, and in dreadful deeds Fearless, endanger'd Heav'n's perpetual King; And put to proof his high Supremacy, Whether upheld by strength, or Chance, or Fate, Too well I see and rue the dire event, That with sad overthrow and foul defeat Hath lost us Heav'n, and all this might Host In horrible destruction laid thus low, As far as Gods and Heav'nly Essences Can Perish: for the mind and spirit remains Invincible, and vigour soon returns, Though all our Glory extinct, and happy state Here swallow'd up in endless misery.... To reign is worth ambition though in Hell: Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n. But wherefore let we then our faithful friends, Th' associates and copartners of our loss Lye thus astonisht on th' oblivious Pool, And call them not to share with us their part In this unhappy Mansion, or once more With rallied Arms to try what may be yet Regain'd in Heav'n, or what more lost in Hell? --John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 1

Dedication

For Barry and Josh, of courseAnd for my much loved friends, proof that we somehow manage to find our own tribe

First words

Herein lies the faithful and true account of my last sixty days, by Kartik, brother of Amar, loyal son of the Rakshana, and of the strange visitation I received that has left me wary on this cold English night.

Quotations

Last words

I watch until I can't see anything, until the path it has traveled is erased by a sudden flurry of new leaves.

Wikipedia in English

In this sequel to the Victorian fantasy A Great and Terrible Beauty, Gemma continues to pursue her role as the one destined to bind the magic of the Realms and restore it to the Order--a mysterious group who have been overthrown by a rebellion. Gemma, Felicity and Ann, (her girlfriends at Spence Academy for Young Ladies), use magical power to transport themselves on visits from their corseted world to the visionary country of the Realms, with its strange beauty and menace. There they search for the lost Temple, the key to Gemma's mission, and comfort Pippa, their friend who has been left behind in the Realms. After these visits they bring back magical power for a short time to use in their own world. Meanwhile, Gemma is torn between her attraction to the exotic Kartik, the messenger from the opposing forces of the Rakshana, and the handsome but clueless Simon, a young man of good family who is courting her. The complicated plot thickens when Gemma discovers a woman in Bedlam madhouse who knows where to find the Temple; Ann shows signs of being enamored of Gemma's loutish brother Tom, and their father's addiction to laudanum lands him in an opium den. A large part of the enjoyment of this unusual fantasy comes from the Victorian milieu and its restrictive rules about the behavior of proper young ladies, as contrasted with the unimaginable possibilities of the Realms, where Gemma has power to confront gorgons and ghosts and the responsibility to save a world. (Ages 12 and up) --Patty Campbell